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Southeast Asia’s Most Populous Nation Hires Alibaba Boss as E-Commerce Advisor

Southeast Asia’s Most Populous Nation Hires Alibaba Boss as E-Commerce Advisor
Bloomberg | Jack Ma

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba founder Jack Ma having been appointed as special advisor to the Indonesian government for the development of Indonesia's e-commerce.

After their meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, Indonesia’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara said that Ma had accepted an offer to advise a steering committee consisting of 10 ministers, which is tasked with promoting the country’s e-commerce sector.

The proposal was first made by Indonesian President Joko Widodo when he visited Alibaba’s headquarters during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China last year.

Alibaba's Jack Ma and Indonesia’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara. Image: Tech in Asia
Alibaba's Jack Ma and Indonesia’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara. Image: Tech in Asia

As quoted by Tech in Asia,  one of Ma's first remarks was that Indonesia will need to focus on improving infrastructure (including ICT infrastructure and payment systems) and its logistics networks as connectivity is key. It is especially important in a massive country like Indonesia that consists of thousands of islands and is home to about 260 million people.

This is in line with Indonesia’s e-commerce roadmap stipulated this August.  

Jack Ma regained his position as Asia’s richest man according to Forbes this week with a fortune of US$37.4bn, thanks to Alibaba’s gains in earnings and share price.

 

Ma also plans to invite Indonesian officials to Alibaba's headquarters for training programs in which developments in the e-commerce industry are explained.

Indonesian authorities are currently trying to find the correct strategy to streamline the rapidly developing domestic e-commerce industry and generate more tax revenue from this industry, while at the same time not allowing this relatively new industry to kill off existing (offline) industries.

Therefore, it is also important for traditional retail companies to embrace the potential of e-commerce activities. This also involves improving Indonesia's human resources and prepare the young generations of Indonesians to participate in online businesses, as stated by Indonesia’s Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara as quoted by Kompas.  

President of Indonesia Joko Widodo and Alibaba's Jack Ma when he visited Alibaba's headquarters during G20 summit in Hangzho, China, 2016. Image: Kompas
President of Indonesia Joko Widodo and Alibaba's Jack Ma when he visited Alibaba's headquarters during G20 summit in Hangzho, China, 2016. Image: Kompas

According to data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Indonesia’s online shopping market – the largest in Southeast Asia – is set to grow from last year’s US$5.3 billion to US$130 billion in 2020.

However, such rapid growth also poses challenges for Indonesian authorities that need to create the right legal and fiscal environment. Meanwhile, the 56 million small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia should be encouraged to enter the global market (thus require a fair degree of competitiveness and a better standard of human resources), as analysed by Indonesia Investments. 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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